BIG to redesign San Pellegrino's bottling factory in Italy

San Pellegrino will soon have a brand new flagship factory in San Pellegrino Terme, Bergamo, Italy, where the sparkling-water brand has resided since 1899. Recently, Bjarke Ingels Group had the winning proposal to design the new bottling factory in a competition against MVRDV, Snøhetta, and Architetto Michele De Lucchi.

At 17,500 m2, the design of the new €90 million structure incorporates elements from its surrounding mountainous environment and pays tribute to San Pellegrino's heritage. “Rather than imposing a new identity on the existing complex, we propose to grow it out of the complex,” Bjarke Ingels said in a statement.

Have a look at BIG's winning scheme below.

“We propose to wash away the traditional segregation between front and back of house, and to create a seamless continuity between the environment of production and consumption, and preparation and enjoyment,“ Bjarke Ingels says.

At the center of the campus, a core sample of the mountain displays the different strata of rock involved in the natural formation of the spring water, an interpretation of the 30-year journey of the water that travels from the snowy summits to the springs at the foot of the mountain.

In addition to the production facility, the new building will include offices for San Pellegrino staff and public spaces open to visitors. BIG's design reinvents elements of classic Italian architecture — like the arcade, the viale, the piazza, and the portico — and features walkways shaped by rows of arcs that offer views of the surrounding landscape.

“We are confident that it will stimulate other initiatives that were started in recent years, but may have been put on hold in the aftermath of the economic crisis,” says San Pellegrino Terme mayor Vittorio Milesi.

Over the next four years, BIG will work on the project alongside San Pellegrino and local architects Studio Verticale. Once groundbreaking takes place in 2018, construction will begin for a bridge that connects the factory to Zogno and a parking structure for heavy vehicles. Starting in 2019, construction will focus on offices, the northern wing of the Factory, and the Experience Lab.

Find more project drawings in the gallery below.